Kelapanda Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar, the two 22-year-olds from Chennai, endured a roller-coaster ride to finish with bronze in the men’s 49er sailing event at the recently concluded Asian Games.

In an email interview with Kodagu Connect, Kelapanda Ganapathy, with Kodagu roots, speaks about his entry into sailing and future plans.

How did you first get involved with sailing?
I first started sailing when I was around six years old. One of my classmates’ dad took some of our classmates on a sailing trip and I just loved the experience. There has been no looking back for the last 16 years. It has been a long journey but it’s just the beginning.

How did it feel winning bronze medal for India at Asian Games?
It was one of the proudest moments of my life. Only regret was being not able to win the gold because we couldn’t execute some of our plans as we had planned before the race.

How did you train and prepare for Asian Games?
A year back I had a shoulder surgery, so I had only six months to prepare for the Asian Games. We spent a lot of time training in Europe. I would especially like to mention our coaches Bunny Warren, Jyrki Jarvi, Alain and Champy who were of great support, and special thanks to Jonas Warrer who was with us at the Asian Games. We couldn’t have achieved anything without these amazing people.

Showing solidarity with the flood-affected people of Kodagu, the Kodava Hockey Academy has decided to postpone the 2019 edition of the annual Kodava Hockey Festival. The festival, which was supposed to be orgainsed by Mukkatira (Harihara) family at Balugodu near Virajpet in April 2019, will now be held in 2020 at the same venue.